The Cities of Venice and Mestre, South of the Piave River in Northern Italy

The city of Venice, capital of the Veneto Region is northern Italy, appears as a fish-shaped white island in the Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. The city actually stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy lagoon.Visible on the Italian mainland across from the island is the city of Mestre.

The saltwater lagoon itself stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Here, the Piave can be seen flowing towards the Adriatic north of the lagoon. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for 220 km (135 miles) into the sea.